Nvidia launches investigation into CEO Jensen Huang over foreign intelligence concerns
By Auzinea Bacon, Hadas Gold, CNN
(CNN) — Nvidia announced Sunday it is launching an independent investigation into its chief executive and founder, Jensen Huang, over concerns he was the “target of a foreign intelligence effort.”
The statement, published on the company’s website, comes after US officials have expressed concern over Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive of Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company. (The two are not related).
Separately, Huang admitted having an extramarital affair in a note to staff, though he did not name the woman.
The Financial Times previously reported that US officials believed the two were in a romantic relationship. Several outlets have reported that American officials suspect Alice Huang has fed intelligence to China and helped smuggle advanced artificial intelligence chips to the country. Nvidia is the world’s leading chipmaker amid the AI boom and has a market capitalization of about $4.5 trillion.
CNN has asked the State Department for comment.
The company previously said in a statement that Jensen Huang’s meetings were “not unusual or unexpected. Meetings with customers are part of a CEO’s job; Jensen talks with thousands of customer executives every year.” It added that any concerns about illegal chip diversion were “debunked last year.”
Nvidia said a committee of independent directors and outside counsel will oversee its investigation.
“The Board prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders,” the company said. But, the board “has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised.”
“Today’s news will not slow NVIDIA. Jensen is committed to continuing to lead NVIDIA as CEO without interruption,” a spokesperson for Nvidia told CNN.
Jensen Huang, 63, said that he was “unfaithful” and hurt his wife and children in the note to Nvidia staff.
“I take full responsibility for what I did and the hurt I caused, and I accept the criticism that comes with it,” Jensen Huang said, adding that he supports Nvidia’s investigation. “I am committed to protecting NVIDIA and supporting America’s national security.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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CNN’s Logan Schiciano contributed to this story
